Idea of Ahimsa and Asceticism in Ancient Indian Tradition

Author(s): Bansidhar Bhatt
Publisher: B J Institute

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socio-religious aspects worthy to be noted here. It attracted many persons interested in expressing their concern, for the first time, over social and religious aspects, such as arbitrary authority and greedy attitude of the brahmins and their unreasonable killing of animals, abuse of political power, etc.
Moreover, new ethical ideals and new concepts of final deliverance developed around the ahimsa concept and took a definite shape, e.g. interiorization and spiritualization of the sacrificial ritualism (cf. Heesterman-1 pp.14 fol. and Heesterman-2 pp.16 fol.; Schmidt-1 pp.651 fol.), secularization of the renouncers' ideals and the values of abhaya - fearlessness.-, samatva - equanimity -, freedom from passion, etc. which were giving a determined values to the renouncers' mode of life (Schreiner. p.304).
Many puraņas in general and later smộtis in Hinduism contain innumerable passages similar in nature and contents (see e.g. Wezler-1 p.109). This all attracts and interests us all, but radically they add nothing to what we have so far stated. Moreover, the puranas are plenty in number, and their chronology is not yet certain. We, therefore, do not deal with relevant passages from them concerned with a him sa. But the passages so far mentioned strike us more, not because they contained powerful agrumentation and heated discussions against the himsa or animal sacrifices in particular, but because they show a growing tendency among the persons of all classes within the fold Brahmanism or Hinduism, a tendency of revolting against and expressing their utter disregard for the sacrificial hiņsā, though it was earlier sanctioned in Vedic
Such and similar other passages in the Brahmanical or Hindu literature, have one and almost the same moral to teach, viz. the dharma, righteousness, the ahimsa, and the knowledge that the soul is one and resides in all beings, the soul in one person is the same one that resides in others, i.e. animals, birds, insects, plants, trees, and what not. As such, an injury to any living being is an injury to one's own self. This is the fundamental teaching, the all-pervading atman theory of the upanişa dic thinking which has been an early incentive for the ahimsa doctrine in India. The MBH says:
na hi pranat priyataram loke kimcana vidyate / tasmad dayam naraḥ kuryad yathậtmani tatha pare //
(anuša sana-parvan: 113.12).